


Reasons Not to Kiss Her

by wisdomofme



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Don't ask me how, F/M, Post Season 1, but there is now plot to the pining, but would you believe that it became a semi Season 2 Speculation fic?, so this was meant to just be some cute pining angst fluff, there's a happy ending i promise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 08:02:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27347830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wisdomofme/pseuds/wisdomofme
Summary: A relationship between a human and a ghost sounds like something out of a story, something fantastical. A relationship like that couldn't ever be possible in real life, Luke is sure of it. It's a shame Julie has different ideas.Completely inspired bythis amazing gif seton tumblr!
Relationships: Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Comments: 21
Kudos: 185
Collections: JATP Appreciation Week





	1. Reason One

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, a terrible mistake has been made and now I'm posting two multichap fics at the same time. May the gods help you poor suckers.
> 
> This is being posted today to celebrate JatP Appreciation Week, for Day 3: a fic focused on your favourite ship. Make sure to check out the other fics in this collection and their [tumblr](https://jatp-week.tumblr.com/) if you're interested in seeing some more amazing authors/artists and their works!

**This sort of love is not allowed. You are both too soft, and the world around you is all knives and chipped teeth.**

Luke’s life sometimes felt like a collection of _‘oh’_ moments. Like the moment Luke first held a guitar. He was thirteen and it was his first music class at Middle School. The guitar was too big for him and the noise that came out of the instrument when he strummed it was nothing short of janky but he knew-

 _Oh_.

This was his _thing_.

Or meeting Alex in the music room in his first week of High School and seeing him slam his frustration out on the drums in a killer solo. It took Reggie a week of encouraging but, finally, Luke went up to him and asked if he wanted to join their band. Alex’s entire face had lit up in a grin as he said yes and Reggie whooped from the doorway and he knew-

 _Oh_.

They were meant to be together.

Or the first time Luke stood outside the Orpheum. Some tour guide in the street was making a speech to a small cluster of people about all the music legends that had gotten their first big break on that stage and-

 _Oh_.

Sunset Curve _had_ to perform there.

And even his afterlife was filled with those moments. From the very first time he heard Julie play, to when they sang Bright in her kitchen, to finding the poem she wrote for Flynn and just _knowing_.

Together, they could be great.

And then Luke held Julie’s face in his hands and he realized.

 _Oh_.

He wanted to kiss her.

It wasn't the first time that Luke wanted to kiss Julie, but it was the first time he wanted to and _could_. His hands cupped her jaw, her cheeks warm, properly warm, under his fingers. He took a moment to revel in it as his thumbs brushed away the tears that were caused by him. Despite them, she’s radiant, and her hazel eyes stared up at him with something burning in their depths. Something he’s too scared to name. 

And all at once that want is replaced by a building, burning fear. He couldn't kiss her, this is _Julie_. She's smart and talented and kind and so, so special. And he's just Luke.

Just a dead boy with no future.

By the time he's come to this realization, by the time he let the doubt and fear truly take hold, Alex and Reggie are there and the four of them are hugging. And then Julie proved exactly how amazing she is as Caleb's stamps vanished with a single touch from her. She's incredible and she was crying because she nearly lost the three of them tonight.

He can't put her through that again.

The three of them are going to have to move on eventually. And even if he didn't, even if he stayed with her forever, she was going to get the chance to grow. She wouldn't need a ghost who never breached his teens holding her back. So he let his eyes linger on her one last time as she pulled them all in for a second hug and he decided that she didn't need to know about the fluttering feeling he got in his chest every time she smiled.

It was better that way.

“I can’t believe this,” Reggie breathed as they stepped back from their huddle. His eyes were still rimmed with red and he laced his fingers through Julie’s as he spoke, seemingly reluctant to part from her. “You’re so warm Julie.”

“Warm?” She repeated, dragging her second hand from Alex’s back and clasping Reggie’s hand between both of her own. “What do you mean?”

“We don’t really get hot or cold as ghosts,” Alex explained. “When we touch each other we can feel it but there’s no temperature.”

“But it’s like you’re a heater,” Reggie said, excitement creeping into his voice. “Like a tiny, Julie shaped, ghost heater.”

She laughed at Reggie’s comparison, a bright clear note that made Luke’s insides squirm uncomfortably, and dragged him closer by the hand. She wrapped an arm around Reggie’s waist and tugged Alex to her side by the hem of his jacket. The three of them laughed as Julie’s arms wrapped around them again and Luke couldn’t help but watch the three most important people in his life. His heart swelled as they began to glow once more and Julie’s eyes met his again, an inviting light in her eyes as a small smile curled on her lips.

It was too much. Luke let his gaze drop back to the floor but Julie wouldn’t let him get away that easily. She dropped her arms from Alex and Reggie and skipped forward half a step so she could throw her arms over his shoulders. Like before, like Reggie had said, she was warm. From her arms around his neck to her body pressed against his to the smile he could feel against his collar bone. She may have caused them to glow but Julie _radiated_ light like she was born to do it. 

Alex and Reggie were half a second behind Julie and Luke was encased in his third hug of the night. Happiness bubbled in his chest until it escaped him in a chuckle as he ducked down and pressed his forehead against Julie’s.

“You know you can’t keep hugging us all night,” He whispered as he gazed into her eyes. He felt Reggie’s hand fist in the back of his vest as Alex ruffled his hair.

She pulled back and blinked up at him, her smile turning cheeky as she shrugged her shoulders. “Of course, all night would be ridiculous.” Her eyes glinted in the light of the studio and Luke stopped breathing. “But a little longer couldn’t hurt, right?”

He wanted to kiss Julie Molina more than anything.

He smiled instead.

Julie didn’t leave until an hour later, a faintly worried expression on her face as she paused by the studio doors and gave them one last wave. The four of them had spent the time in a pile on the sofa, just relishing in the joy of being able to touch each other. But as Luke laid on the couch once she left to go to bed, he couldn't erase the image of the light in her eyes and her softly parted lips from his mind. He let his eyes flutter shut for half a moment and wished that ghosts could sleep. Wished that ghosts could dream.

Unfortunately, the face that greeted him when he opened them again and was jerked from his daydreaming wasn’t hers. “Dude,” Reggie said, a worried crease between his brows as he hovered over him. “I know it’s been a big night, but you’re really quiet.”

Luke waved him off, trying to get a little space from him as he tried to think. “I’m just tired, those jolts weren’t kidding around at the end there.”

“Tell me about it,” Alex muttered as he changed out of the suit and back into his own clothes. “I don’t know if ghosts can have heart attacks but it felt damn close.” He held his pink suit jacket out at arm's length between two fingers and grimaced. “Are we keeping these or burning them?”

“Burning,” Reggie and Luke chorused without even a glance in his direction.

Alex snorted and a heap of cloth landed in the middle of Luke’s chest. He jerked up at the impact, his hand patting at his chest until he grabbed hold of one of his tanks and his blue hoodie. 

“Yes.” Luke sat up and began shucking off the remains of his vest and pulling on his tank. “I’m gonna miss my jeans though.”

“Wait a second,” Reggie whined as he pulled his head through the hole. “Caleb really stole our clothes?” He turned to Luke and then Alex but received only the same exhausted look from each of them. “But my jacket!”

“Yeah dude,” Alex said with a shrug as Luke tossed his suit and pants on the growing to-burn pile in the middle of the room. “Maybe Julie will buy you a new one?”

Reggie perked up for a moment before a disappointed expression crashed over his face. “But it won’t be vintage.”

Finally free of Caleb’s weird ghost suit, Luke sat back on the sofa. He let his eyes trail over to the small side window, just in time to catch the light turn off in Julie’s room. A small smile curled on his lips as he thought about the performance at the Orpheum. He could recall Julie’s voice singing out to him as he tried to appear on the stage, Caleb’s sticky magic holding him back. He had been trying as hard as he could to make it but it just wasn’t enough, and then her determined gaze had locked on his as she belted out the words and-

Luke didn’t think that Julie was a witch but there was definitely something magical about her.

“No, seriously Luke, what’s up?” Alex’s voice broke through Luke’s thoughts. He blinked a few times before watching as Alex sat down on the empty cushion next to him. “You’re really off.”

Luke straightened up in his seat, uncomfortable under Alex’s concerned gaze. “I’m fine, seriously. We’re all good now, no stamp, no jolts, and now we can keep playing with Julie.”

It was true, Julie had lifted a weight off all their shoulders tonight, and Luke watched Alex’s lips soften into a smile. He knew that playing with Julie was something they all wanted to continue doing, and he hoped she knew it too. It seemed incredible that she had whirled into their afterlives like a hurricane and made it worth living.

Reggie snorted from his spot on the ground, stretched out to the length of the couch like he intended to take a nap on the rug. “Oh yeah, I’m sure playing with Julie is your top priority.”

Alex muffled a laugh with his hand as Luke kicked out with his feet, lightly connecting with Reggie’s boney hip. He leant forward and glared down at Reggie, still snickering on the ground.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Luke grumbled and both Reggie and Alex let out irritated groans.

“Come on dude,” Alex said as he tugged Luke to sit back against the couch. “We know you like her. You’ve been pretty obvious about it.”

Luke shook his head. No, no he hadn’t. He hadn’t even properly _liked_ Julie long enough for them to notice. Surely. “No I haven’t-”

“Don’t deny it,” Reggie sighed as he pushed himself off the floor and slid into the armchair next to Luke. “Did you really think we wouldn’t notice? Man, it’s all over your face every time she sings.” 

It’s hard not to get upset when his best friends were ganging up on him. Luke scowled and scooted further down the couch so he wasn’t so close to them but Alex just looped his arm around Luke’s neck and pulled him back. Curse his long arms.

“Come on man, we’re just teasing,” Alex laughed as he rubbed his hand against Luke’s back, jerking his head towards Reggie to get him to back him up. Reggie grinned and shook his head.

“Yeah, but you guys would make a great pair-”

“It's not about that,” Luke cut him off. He couldn’t afford the flutter of happiness in his chest at the thought. “It's- I'm dead. And Julie has so much life left to live! How would that even work? What would we even do?”

Reggie and Alex were both silent for a blissful moment as they traded a concerned look. Luke knew that he wasn’t the most practical person, he tended to react a little impulsively and he was sure the fact that he had thought about this had thrown them for a loop.

“You guys could write great songs together?” Alex offered, but Luke was quick to wave him off.

“Thanks Alex, real helpful,” he said. He sank back into the cushions of the couch and turned his gaze to the roof of the studio. Talking about this felt like poking a bruise and he was tired. Surely, this could be a conversation for another day, or week- never would honestly be preferable. 

But as much as he willed for them to understand, it was only a few moments before Alex spoke again. “Have you considered talking to her about it?”

“Yeah!” Reggie perked up, a soft smile quirking on his lips at Alex’s suggestion. “This involves Julie too, you can't just make a decision for her like that.”

Luke sighed again and stared at the chairs on the roof. He still didn’t understand that particular modern trend. “It'll be easier if she doesn't know.”

Alex made a strained noise and Luke reluctantly looked at him only to find his face twisted up like he had just bitten into a lemon. “Did you think about that before you started acting like a middle schooler with a crush?”

Luke scowled and grabbed hold of the pillow beside him. “I don't-” He couldn't quite find the words but slamming the pillow against Alex’s face made him feel better anyway. He let himself appreciate his small win for a moment but then made the mistake of turning to Reggie and his judgemental frown. Luke pouted. “Oh you know what, shut up. It's not that I don't want to, it's just- I’m a ghost.”

“Yeah,” Reggie said and then shook his hands in Luke’s face. “But you can touch her now!”

“What of it?” Luke could feel himself growing frustrated. They were acting like he hadn’t been thinking about this. “I’m still dead. That won’t change anything. She’s going to grow up, grow old and I’ll just…” Luke gestured at himself before letting hands run over the back of his neck self consciously.

His words finally seemed to get through to the pair. Reggie couldn’t quite look Luke in the eye and he could feel Alex’s hand on his back tense for a moment before clenching against his back. It had worked but Luke regretted the words, he felt like he had opened a cavity in his chest and maybe he had let them see just a little too much. He wished he could snatch the words from the air and stuff them back down his throat.

“Woah.” The sound slipped from Reggie like a breath. “I didn’t realize you were thinking that far ahead.”

Luke glared at him.

Reggie winced, understanding that he’d made a blunder this time. “Sorry, sorry.”

Luke couldn’t look at either of their pitying expressions for a second longer. Instead he turned his side into the back of the couch, shaking off Alex’s hand, and let his arm drape over his eyes. He didn’t want to think about the look they were probably giving each other at that moment. He didn’t want to think about the girl up in her room. He didn’t want to wonder if she was thinking about how his fingers had felt pressed against her cheek. But it was pointless.

“Don’t worry,” he said, finding it easy to speak to the back of his eyelids. “I won’t let this affect the band. Julie is my-” He swallowed and tried again. “She’s our friend and we can’t let her down again.” His throat closed up as he thought about that night at the dance, at the expression on her face before she had run from the gym. 

Never again, he swore silently. He’d never hurt her like that again.

Out loud he said, “I promise, things will be no different than before.”


	2. Reason Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flynn appears and Luke understandably panics in the face of Julie being cute. Neither of these things are related.

**No one ever taught you how to love. Your war paint and scarred hands could never hold her like she deserves.**

Things were different than before.

It all started fairly normal, the only exception being that the band got to indulge in a group hug every time Julie stepped through the studio door. Julie bore their antics with a grace that said a lot about her character, but she could never quite stop the smile that spread across her face whenever Alex would sling an arm over her shoulder or Reggie would lift her up and spin her around. But two days after the Orpheum, Flynn stepped into the studio behind Julie and changed everything.

“Oh cool!” Reggie said with a grin as he looked over Julie’s shoulder mid hug. “Flynn’s here!”

Luke looked up and straight into Flynn’s eyes. She stared back as her mouth fell open. “Uh, I think she’s a little more than here guys.”

Julie squirmed out of their hug, trying desperately to see what Luke was talking about, and the moment Julie broke free Flynn frowned, blinking as she turned her attention to Julie.

“You didn’t tell me you could do that!” Flynn cried, her hands waving about with excitement. Julie jogged forward and pulled them back down, patiently waiting for Flynn to make sense. “You said touch- touch not _see_!”

Julie jerked back, an excited smile spreading across her face as her hands tightened on Flynn’s. “Wait- You can see them now?”

“No.” Julie’s face fell as Flynn shook her head. “Not now, but I could when you guys were hugging.”

Luke glanced at Reggie, a thousand questions flying through his mind, and then looked to Alex. He had a hand cupped over his mouth, his eyes focused on Flynn as he thought. It took a moment but Alex finally stepped forward, a hand reaching out until it made contact with Julie’s shoulder. Flynn’s reaction was instantaneous.

Her head snapped up to look at him, her eyes widening as she dropped Julie’s hands in favour of clapping excitedly. “Oh my god, oh my god- I can see Alex.”

Julie looked at Alex’s hand on her shoulder and followed the line of his arm until she was looking at the confused expression on his face. “People can see us when we touch you?” Alex asked, like Julie might have the answers to all his afterlife problems. She shrugged helplessly.

“That’s so cool,” Reggie breathed and then jumped forward slightly too hard, knocking into Julie. She stumbled from the force of it and Luke quickly grabbed hold of her elbow, making sure she didn’t fall.

Luke could hear Reggie mumble an apology but he was too distracted by the thankful grin that Julie shot him to make out the words. He felt like a fool, frozen by the force of her smile and she was already turning back to Flynn. Alex was right, he was acting like a middle schooler with a crush.

“Well, well, well,” Flynn said, grinning as she spoke. “The Phantoms, in the flesh.”

“Or as close as we can get,” Alex replied with a shrug. 

“This is cool,” Reggie repeated, grinning at Flynn as she focused on him. “You’re cool- Flynn you’re amazing! You’ve helped us out so much with gigs and everything-”

Reggie turned to Luke and he smiled, continuing where Reggie left off. “Yeah Flynn, we’ve never been able to thank you for what you’ve done for us, for the band.”

“And for Julie,” Alex cut in, glancing back at Luke and Reggie but they just nodded for him to continue. “Even when we stuff up you’re always there for her. Thanks.”

Flynn raised her chin and basked in their compliments. “I am pretty amazing, aren’t I,” she said, preening slightly. She took a small moment to soak it in before turning back to the four of them, her smile softening as she looked at Julie. “You know what Jules, all that stuff I’ve been saying about-” Flynn gestured vaguely towards the boys before shaking her head solemnly. “Cute air and all that. I take it all back.”

Julie coughed like she was choking on something as a strained laugh slipped from her lips. She shook the boys’ hands from her shoulders and ignored Flynn’s groan of disappointment as they vanished from her view. Julie quickly turned around and smiled at the three of them.

“And I think we’re going to have to cancel band practice for the night,” Julie said, her hand snapping out and latching onto Flynn’s wrist. “Flynn and I need to talk.”

The boys started to complain but Julie just shook her head and mimed putting a finger in her ear before she wheeled around and marched from the studio, dragging Flynn behind her. Luke turned to Alex and Reggie, confused, but all they could offer was a shrug.

“Girls,” Reggie said as Luke wandered over to the door and Alex snorted.

“No, that’s just Julie,” he said, his knowing gaze on Luke as he watched Julie leave. 

A few hours later, long after Flynn had left, Luke stuck his arm through Julie's door and knocked. He could hear her muffled giggle at the new habit that all three of the boys had picked up before she called out, "Come in."

He stuck his head through the door, waving as he spotted Julie sitting on her bed. Her hair was braided away from her face and she was enveloped in a pastel blue jumper, her fist tucked inside the sleeve as she waved back.

"Hey," she called out quietly. Luke knew that she was just trying not to wake her dad or Carlos, but with her soft voice and the fond smile that appeared when he stepped into the room, it seemed intimate. It seemed like it was something just for him.

He couldn't stop himself from returning the smile. "Hey." His eyes got caught on her lips, on her eyes as they shone in the bedroom light. He blinked and looked away as he realized he’d been staring, his fingers fiddling with the notebook in his hands. “Um, I didn’t mean to bother you so late. I just needed to…” He struggled for words as the smile faded from Julie’s face, slowly turning into a small frown.

Her lips quirked sympathetically as he stumbled over what to say. “Needed to write?” Her eyes darted down to the book pointedly.

A nervous huff escaped him. “Yeah.” He scratched the back of his neck and glanced back up at her. “And I was hoping I could write- with you?”

His heart stuttered as she giggled softly, nodding before she began to feel around her bed. “Of course, just let me clean up a little first.”

Luke didn’t wait, starting towards the bed and catching a glimpse of the few loose sheets spread out in front of Julie as she began to pile them together. He recognized a few with his own handwriting, some songs they had worked on together, but one sheet was unfamiliar to him. Julie discreetly folded it up and slid it into her pocket before he could read any of her neat letters on the page. Luke's eyes followed her hand eagerly. 

"Something new?" He asked as he perched on the edge of her bed.

Her eyes narrowed as she glared at him but she couldn't quite hide her smile. "Boundaries."

Luke smirked and rolled his eyes as he stretched out along the end of her bed. "Alright then, in that case what _else_ are you working on?"

Julie shook her head and she gathered up the papers, pulling a pencil from behind her ear as she laid down next to him. “I might have something?” She said, the end of her pencil tapping against a blank page as she thought. “I’ve had this melody stuck in my head all day…”

Julie closed her eyes and began softly humming. Luke couldn’t help but stare, his breath catching in his throat at the content expression on her face. He knew what it felt like to lose himself in music but, sometimes, watching Julie was like watching someone who’s very soul was bound in notes and chords. Every sound she made felt like the beginning of a song and when she created something intentionally, well, Luke had called her a wrecking ball once.

The melody filled the air between them, feeling almost like a living thing with the way it wrapped around Luke as he swayed forward, trapped in it’s pull. He loved the way her lashes brushed against her cheeks, how the wispy hairs around her face curled in tight spirals, how her eyes squeezed shut just a little tighter when she was trying to concentrate on a note. Every part of her felt like it clicked into place next to him, like they were two halves that made each other more than whole. 

Luke straightened his shoulders, stopping himself from falling any further towards her, but it was too late. His heart was pounding in his chest, like it had just remembered what it was like to be alive, like _Julie_ reminded it of what it was like to be alive. And that melody continued, worming it’s way into his head until lyrics began to write themselves.

_Give me a reason. Why are we pretending?_

No, that wasn’t quite right. Luke let the words roll over in his mind, listening to them change as Julie stopped humming, her hazel eyes slowly opening to look up at him.

_Give me a reason to keep pretending._

She smiled, oblivious to the lurching feeling that it created in Luke’s gut as he tried to flash her a grin that seemed excited but felt more manic than anything. After a few moments he dropped his gaze from her face to the ratty notebook in his hands. His fingers itched for a pen but he knew anything he would write now would be too embarrassing to leave in there. Not on the off chance that Reggie would go through it so he could slip in another country song for Luke to find.

“So…” Julie dragged the word out like she hoped it would prompt something. “Any thoughts?”

Luke swallowed, his tongue feeling thick and heavy in his mouth. “Sounds a bit slower than what we usually write.”

Julie nodded as she hummed a bar of the melody in quick succession, like she was trying to double check how slow she wanted it to be. Luke couldn’t help but let his eyes flicker up, just to catch the tail end of her peaceful expression. “I guess it is more ballad-ish than usual.” Her lips pursed as she thought. “We could always add a drop, like with the Edge of Great?”

“Won’t that ruin the feel of the song?”

“Feel?”

Truthfully, Luke didn’t want to change anything that Julie ever came up with, but that wasn’t how collaboration worked. He didn’t want Julie to think that he wasn’t taking her seriously as an artist. “Uh yeah. This seems a little wistful, right?” He said instead. “Adding a drop seems really… concrete.”

Julie paused for a moment and Luke’s heart began to pound in his chest. Did he say the wrong thing? Had he messed up? But then she looked at him and he couldn’t help but get lost in her eyes and soft smile.

“Would that be so bad?” She asked, her voice quiet and hesitant.

Luke swallowed.

“Depends on the song, I guess.” His voice sounded strained even to himself and he couldn’t tear his eyes from her despite every part of him screaming that he needed to. “On what it was trying to say.”

“And if it _was_ trying to say something concrete?

It was too close. _She_ was too close.

He wanted to poof away and escape the feeling of his heart crawling out of his throat. He wanted to run back to Alex and Reggie, to tease them about something stupid and have a jam session until 3am and do anything but think of Julie Molina and how wonderfully _alive_ she was. And then her head dipped closer, her eyelids fluttering like she could barely keep them open and Luke’s eyes dropped to her lips.

He couldn’t risk breathing. His heart thundered in his chest and his palms felt sticky as his fingers curled against them. Was it possible that Julie wanted to kiss _him_? But why would she want that? She liked Nick. And Nick was good for her. He was nice, if pretty dorky by Luke’s standards. But, more than that, he was alive.

And it’d been twenty five years since Luke could say the same.

Luke choked out a laugh and pushed himself onto his elbows, moving ever so slightly away from her. He needed space- he needed to _breathe_.

“I- I’d better go make sure Alex and Reggie aren’t messing around in the studio,” he said.

Julie snorted and Luke would’ve loved to catalogue every moment of that sound but he was too busy trying to run away. “I think we can trust Alex to look after Reg,” she said a wide grin on her face that slowly faded as she watched Luke sit up. Her eyes darted from the notebook in his hands and then to the faltering smile on his face. “Oh. You were serious.”

Luke winced in lieu of saying anything. He tried not to focus on the disappointment in Julie’s voice but it grated against his heart like sandpaper.

“But we haven’t even written anything,” Julie said, her voice wavering as she watched him stand up.

He forced himself to keep his gaze on anything but her as he spoke. “You have school tomorrow, right?” 

It was a weak deflection but Julie seemed to understand it for what it was. She bit down on her lip for a moment as Luke hovered awkwardly before her, waiting to see if she’d let him go or call him out.

She chose the kinder option.

“… Yeah?”

Luke’s throat ran dry and he wondered if he _wanted_ her to call him out, but he forced himself to finish the excuse anyway. “And school first, remember.”

The words felt hollow as they fell between them, matched by the false smile that Julie gave him as she nodded slowly. It looked like she was agreeing with him but her eyes continued to track him as he stepped backwards towards the door, unsteady and awkward in the face of the tension in the room. Finally it grew to be too much and Luke spun on his heel with gritted teeth, prepared to march straight through the door and _escape_. 

“Luke.” Julie’s voice broke through his conviction and he found his head snapping back towards her. A curious confidence had settled over Julie’s shoulders as she sat up and a determined glint shone in her eye. It made butterflies erupt in Luke’s gut. “You know you can tell me anything, right?” She asked.

Luke’s throat felt tight as he nodded quickly, the urge to flee only increasing with the pounding of his long dead heart. “Yeah. Yeah, I know.”

This time Julie’s smile was genuine as her cheeks flushed slightly and her gaze softened. “In that case- goodnight Luke.” 

His mouth ran dry at the sound of her voice- at the wistful goodbye that made his heart stutter in his chest. He swallowed. “‘Night Jules.” 

Without another word, without another chance to be stalled by the girl on the bed, Luke poofed away, appearing in the studio in a flash of light. He felt frozen for a moment, still reeling from the last ten minutes, before he sighed, his shoulders slumping as his hands combed distractedly through his hair. Although he hadn’t slept in twenty five years, Luke’s eyes felt heavy as he flopped back on the couch. With exhaustion weighing down his every limb, Luke spent the rest of the night staring at the roof of the studio, the image of Julie’s lightly pinked cheeks and the look in her eyes haunting him like a waking dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is what I meant when I said I was sorry for starting a multichap. Four months of nothing and then I spit out one chapter? You guys deserve better but I physically cannot give it to you.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter- and the good news is that chapter 3 is pretty close to done so hopefully you'll see it next month! Let me know in the comments if you like sappy Luke or panicked Luke more- either way, I promise you'll see both of them again
> 
> As always, you can find me at [tumblr](https://wisdomofme.tumblr.com/) on tumblr and a loving thank you to my sister, [@darlinggod](https://darlingggod.tumblr.com/), for editing this fic- everyone should thank you for telling me to "Just post it Steph- it's been MONTHS."

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all liked the first chapter! Come find me on [tumblr](https://wisdomofme.tumblr.com/) for the occasional sneak peek at what I'm working on!
> 
> As always, a loving thank you to my sister, [@darlinggod](https://darlingggod.tumblr.com/), for editing this fic- it wouldn't sound half as good without you


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